NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

CORONER’S REPORT: As of Nov. 9, 299 COVID-19 deaths have been recorded by the Northampton County Coroner (268 residents/31 non-residents). An additional 55 deaths of Northampton County residents have been reported by the Lehigh County Coroner as of Sept. 28. Between the two counties, they have recorded 323 deaths of Northampton County residents from COVID-19.

A COVID-19 drive-through testing site is available at 3100 Emrick Blvd., Bethlehem Township. Hours of operation are Monday/Wednesday/Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Tuesday/Thursday from noon to 6 p.m. The site is open on every Saturday from 9 a.m. – noon. The drive-through testing center is located in the parking area to the rear of the Coordinated Health building and is separate from patient parking and routine patient care. The majority of patients tested at this site received their results in one to two days.

Demographic data for 299 deaths reported by the Northampton County Coroner

The ages of the deceased range from 29 to 106 years.

Average age of the deceased is 83.1 years

Gender – 53 percent Female, 47 percent Male

Race: 88 percent White, 6 percent African American, 2 percent Asian, 4 percent Hispanic

Demographic data for 55 deaths reported by the Lehigh County Coroner

The ages of the deceased range from 43 to 98 years.

Average age of the deceased is 77.3 years

Gender – 44 percent Female, 56 percent Male

Race: 80 percent White, 16 percent Hispanic, 2 percent African American, 2 percent Filipino, 0 percent Asian

PENNSYLVANIA

ANTIGEN TEST CARDS: The Wolf Administration has begun distribution of the fifth allotment of COVID-19 antigen test kits provided by the federal government to Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified institutions in Armstrong, Dauphin, Delaware and Indiana counties.

Last week, 371,480 tests were distributed to 15 facilities in Elk, Lawrence, Mifflin and Philadelphia counties. Philadelphia distributed all 353,280 of their allotment during week four. Additional tests will be provided to health care providers in those counties in the coming weeks. Archived lists of distributions since week one can be found on the Department of Health’s Coronavirus Symptoms & Testing webpage under the Antigen Tests subhead.

RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS: The Department of Agriculture has released data related to COVID-19 restaurant enforcement actions from Nov. 2 through 8. The information is specific to COVID-19 mitigation requirements for restaurants, including social distancing, masking, and occupancy limits.

These numbers include actions taken during routine food safety inspections and inspections prompted by consumer complaints.

From Nov. 2 through 8, the Bureau of Food Safety performed 675 total inspections, 20 of which were complaint-driven; 15 were COVID-19 specific complaints. The bureau distributed 35 COVID-19 complaint-driven educational letters. Eight COVID-19 related complaints were referred to local and county health jurisdictions. Five formal Warning Letters were issued. Two citations were filed.

A county by county breakdown of COVID-19 restaurant enforcement actions can be found on the Department of Agriculture’s website. The data will be updated weekly, with data from the previous week.

PLCB ENFORCEMENT: Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Enforcement Officers visited 228 licensed liquor establishments from Nov. 13 through 15 to ensure businesses are abiding by COVID-19 mitigation requirements that include social distancing, masking, and other health and safety requirements of the liquor code.

Liquor Control Enforcement Officers issued 21 notices of violation and 34 warnings for failing to follow COVID-19 requirements.

Complaints regarding licensees not complying with COVID-19 mitigation mandates may be directed to the BLCE at 1-800-932-0602 or reported through the BLCE’s online complaint form.